Which brings us to today’s Musikfest poll question, the same query we ask you on every first weekend of Musikfest: What's the most buzz-worthy Musikfest RiverPlace show this year?

I’m a bit of a Chris Isaak fan, but I think the smart money this year is on either David Cook, who fills Riverplace’s annual American Idol Quotient, or on Crosby, Stills and Nash, who take care of the Aging Rockers Strategically Selected To Appeal To Baby Boomers Quotient. Sure, CS&N hasn’t had a chart-topping hit since the 70s or so, but they’re on pace to sell out their Riverplace show — and remember, The Moody Blues (!?!) won the 2007 edition of this poll.

The rest of the Riverplace lineup includes Yes, Third Eye Blind, The B-52s and Joan Jett, Puddle of Mudd, Pat Benatar and Blondie, and George Thorogood and Jonny Lang. Weigh in with your pick! Click over to the poll, which is also on themorningcall.com’s nifty Musikfest page, and cast your vote.

Though today marks the festival’s opening, we’ve had tons of Musikfest news coming out for weeks now. Scroll down through the Musikfest category here on the blog for old concert announcements, past updates on ticket sales and other odds and ends; our Morning Call Musikfest page has collected nearly all the briefs and stories we’ve printed about the festival.

The folks over at our Go Guide are recommending the 7 p.m. Lyrikplatz show by Lehigh University senior Danny Rocco, which does promise to be pretty good.

However, the band I most want to see is Three Legged Fox, which gets a Musikfest tryout on the smallish Main Street stage at 8 p.m. Musikfest calls them “indie rock, reggae”; they sound a bit like Rob-Thomas-meets-Matisyahu. Pretty engaging, infectious stuff — I’m eager to see what they do in a live show.

I'm relatively new to Bethlehem and this will be my 4th Musikfest. I kept waiting and waiting for the "good" rock act to be annouced and was saddened when it didn't come. I was super excited about Alice in Chains, The Black Crowes and STP in years past and am VERY disappointed in the big name lineup this year. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way, either! All in all, I'm a huge Musikfest fan and am hopeful that this isn't a sign of what Musikfests to come will be like.

Posted By: Adrianne | Jul 31, 2009 2:04:41 PM

Thanks for the note, Adrianne. I think the organizers are counting on Third Eye Blind to fill the late-90s-era-rock slot this year. Not my favorite group, either. (I was more into Live during that decade.)

That said, many of the best shows at Musikfest are the free ones. Less celebrity, but there are few things better than stumbling across a great free show and realizing you're discovering something great.

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.